A Life With a Love
by Alasse Buchanan
Summary: ...Read it to find out.
1. Chapter 1

"A Life With a Love"

Chapter I: "Could Be Trouble"  
A fifteen-year old girl led her three companions down a clearly walked along path through the thick forest. Her hair was brown and fell to her shoulder. A thick clump of it fell half way over one of her brown eyes, and she had to keep flicking it away. She was nearly six feet tall. She had on grass-stained blue jeans and a navy-blue, quarter-sleeve shirt with a small black backpack strapped to her back.

A bleach blonde girl with sky blue eyes followed closely behind. She had the appearance of a twelve-year old. Her eyes darted from side to side almost every second; she seemed to hear something the others didn't. Her blue jeans had green stains on the knees, but her ocean blue shirt looked to be brand new. 

Clasping the blonde's hand was the youngest of the group - a ten-year old boy. His hair was the same shade as the leader's, and his eyes blue-green, showing a hint of fear. His deep blue cargo pants showed no signs of dirt and neither did his black, short-sleeved shirt. 

Bringing up the rear of the group, was a dirty blonde headed boy, looking to be thirteen or so. His eyes were a deeper blue than the other two. He had on a pair of tan cargo pants and a deep green T-shirt. He was slightly shorter than the oldest girl.

"Be on your guard, guys," said the eldest of the group. "White Tiger Hills is very dangerous if you don't know where you are going, trust me." She slowed a bit, feeling watched.

Robert - the fourteen-year old boy - replied, "Aw, Sar', don't be afraid! We're all together, nothing bad is going to happen. Plus, I am here to protect you." He seemed to be completely oblivious to the snapping of twigs every few seconds.

"Don't be so sure, Robbie," Sarah retorted in a whisper so he wouldn't hear.

Another twig snapped loudly on their left. Sarah halted the group and turned in the direction of the sound. 

"Did anybody besides me just hear that?" Jenny, the twelve-year old, asked. 

"What about that Robbie?" Sarah asked, throwing a glare at him.

Robbie smiled sheepishly, saying nothing. 

After a minute, a bird flew out of the trees where the noise had come from. Jenny and Sarah both let a sigh escape their mouths. 

"See?" Robbie said, being the first to break the silence. He was grinning in a mocking manner. "There is nothing out here."

Sarah ignored his comment and started again.

They kept walking for their destination - White Tiger Village. 

"Sarah," Sam, the youngest, began for the first time since they had gotten off the plane. "What is White Tiger Village like?" 

"Yeah, you have been there before with your friends."

"Well, that was three years ago boys," Sarah told them. She thought for a moment, staring at the dry dirt ground before her. "All I remember is the people really...Some were hospitable to me; others were...Well let's just say they weren't so thrilled about Ray bringing his friends home," she laughed at the end. Then she became serious again. "I do recall a lake, though. Mariah showed it to me." Sarah looked up to the blue sky. "It was even more sky blue than the sky itself!"

A comfortable silence fell over the four. 

"Hey Sarah," Jenny called behind her.

"Yeah?"

"Are we going to live there?"

Sarah paused in mid-step to turn to the three following her. "We came here so we could. I am certain my old friend, Ray, won't mind."

Robbie smiled mischieviously, his eyes narrowing. "Just your friend?" he asked.

Jenny and Sam began to giggle.

"Shut your mouth, Robert!" Sarah commanded.

Before anyone could say anything else, to their right, a twig snapped loudly for the first time in ten minutes. Everyone turned in that direction.

Sarah took a step forward, anger threatening to take her over. "Show yourself now!"

A few seconds passed, then a tall figure emerged out of the darkness of the thick forest. His hair was short and his eyes were like green fog. His shirt and pants were dirty from crawling on the floor of the forest. He was sixteen years of age. His name was Travis.

Sarah immediately recognized him since he was a former member of their team. She was the first to recover from the shock and said, "Why are you here?" 

Flashback

"Travis, what you have done to my sister is unforgiveable," a fourteen-year old Sarah told a year older boy. "That is the last straw! I am banishing you from this team!" 

"But she -"

"I do not want to hear it!" the younger version of Sarah almost yelled. She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to keep control over herself. "Get out of my sight and stay out of it," she commanded calm again, but her eyes burning.

Travis narrowed his eyes back at her. "Fine, but you will regret it," he told her, stomping out of their practice field, never to be seen.

End of Flashback

Sarah, Robbie, Jenny, and Sam hadn't seen him since then - until now, that is. Sarah narrowed her eyes the same as she had done a year ago to stop the burning anger. He may have been sixteen and stronger physically, but Sarah knew she could beat him if it came down to it. 

She knew what was coming.

"Sarah, I want a rematch with you," Travis finally said what she had anticipated. "What do you say?" His red blade was in hand already.

Sarah thought. Half of her wanted to beat him so bad, but the other half knew he had something up his sleeve. Ever since that day she had tried out for Travis's team - now her team - and won, she had been captain, and he had held a grudge on her. 

"I accept."

His smile widened, and his eyes darkened. Sarah suddenly felt like she shouldn't have agreed. 

"There's no dish," Robbie pointed out, speaking for the first time since Travis had arrived. He shot her a glance that was desperately telling her to back out now. 

"We'll play without one," Travis replied calmly. He had now put about twenty feet in between himself and them. Sarah took two steps closer to him to leave her team a little ways behind her so they could run if nessecary. "Who wants to start us off?" Without waiting for a reply, he said, "Robbie, get over here!"

He hesitated, but Sarah nodded for him to do as Travis said.

"Play along for now," she mouthed silently to him.

"Everyone ready your blades!" Robbie told Travis and Sarah. When he saw they were both more than ready, he yelled, "Three...Two...One...Release!"

A blood red blade immediately started to relentlessly attack its opponent. The defender - a blade with a base color of deep purple and hints of gold - dodged every one like it had done this all before. 

Sarah smirked inwardly at this. "Your strategy is still the same." While she talked, she kept her eyes on the battle before her. 

Suddenly, the red blade stopped its attacks.

Her smirk was wiped off her face, replaced with utter confusion.

"Still the same now?" Travis asked from his spot across the field.

Sarah didn't answer; she only watched his blade completely alter its technique. The two blades spun with only a foot of distance separating them.

"Don't know what to do now, huh?" Travis asked her, laughing.

She looked away from the two spinning tops to Travis. She replaced the confusion and frustration with a smile. "At least you finally realized your old strategy sucked," she told him.

He abruptly stopped laughing, staring at her with now deep green eyes that looked deadly. She knew that that would work; she knew he was still the same old sensitive bully.

"We will see." He spoke those words with such difficulty that his teeth didn't even unclench! With that, he began to take steps back. He held up his hand, and his blade returned to his palm. Then he was gone in the shadowy forest.

Sarah released a breath she hadn't known she was holding and called back her blade. She placed it in her black backpack's side pocket, then turned to her companions. She plastered on a smile, saying, "Shall we continue?" Without waiting for an answer, she took the lead and headed in the direction they had been traveling before Travis showed up.

She shuttered at the thought of what would have happened if he had chosen to finish the battle. She really wouldn't have known what to do since his way of battling had changed completely.

'He's toying with me.' 


	2. Can Be Testing

"A Life With a Love"

_Chapter Two: "Can Be Testing"_

Later that day, when the Sun was setting and Jenny and Sam's complaints stopped, they made it to the top of a hill. The three gasped while Sarah smiled, remembering everything from her first visit.

Below them at the bottom of the hill, all the people that lived in the village were moving about since the Sun was high in the sky. Beyond the village, was a forest, and, beyond that was the ocean that separated Japan from China's coast.

Sarah sighed upon realizing how tired she was. All day, plus yesterday, she had led the three to here from the airport. They had walked the whole way. She turned towards the marveling trio.

"Okay, guys, we need to find Ray before the sun has completely set," she told them, formulating a plan. "I don't want you guys getting lost, though...So Robbie, Sam, you two go search that part of the village." She pointed eastward from their standing point. Then she switched her direction to West. "Jenny and I will search in this direction. We will meet back here at this spot after sunset."

Sam and Robbie nodded, but asked, "What does he look like?"

"Spikey raven hair, light brown - no, caramel colored - eyes, and is a little shorter than me." She thought, knowing she was forgetting one distinct feature. "Oh, and he has _really_ long, spikey raven hair that is tied in a tail."

Robbie smirked. "You sure do remember him, huh? Even though you haven't seen him in three years."

Sarah set her mouth in a thin line. "Go look for him, and don't go getting yourself in trouble either."

They didn't respond, however, only raced eachother down the hill.

Sarah slapped her forehead, making a loud sound of flesh colliding with flesh. She turned towards her younger sister, exclaiming, "Boys!"

"We don't know them if they get themselves hated by the whole community before sundown, right?" she asked, knowing the drill.

"Right," Sarah replied. "Now let's go find Ray."

Unlike the two boys, Sarah and Jenny walked at their leisure. Why should they be in a rush - they had all the rest of the day after all. The west side of the village was bigger than the east side that Robbie and Sam were searching. Sarah and Jenny strolled along a few dirt streets lined with small huts, then a small building with a blue cross above the door. An hour turned to two hours and that turned into three.

Sarah and Jenny finally admitted that they needed a short break. They sat down under a leafy tree for some shade from the hot Sun in front of what seemed to be a variety of practice dishes. Little boys were all gathered around most of them, but there was one occupied with four small girls.

"Jenny, I will be right back," she said, standing up. "Stay here." Without waiting for her to argue, she headed over to the dish surrounded by the girls.

They all stopped their activities and stared at her with wide eyes. Then they all screamed in high-pitched tones for a few long seconds. When they finally settled down, Sarah unplugged her ears, instantly regretting it.

"You are Sarah Wright - the American from the Championship semifinals," a seven-year old stated.

"No, she's not," another, older one interrupted. "She's the American who dropped her team out just before the semifinals for unknown reasons. Then she, her two cousins, and sister were adopted by -"

"Okay, okay," Sarah shushed them before she heard his terrible name. "I didn't come here to hear my life's story." She raised her hands in a "don't shoot" kind of manner.

"Then what are you here for?" a nine-year old asked inquisitively.

Before Sarah could answer, someone spoke for her. "She came here to talk to me."

Three boys were walking up to her. One was Robbie and the shortest was Sam. Walking beside Robbie was a fifteen-year old boy with spikey black hair, amber eyes, and a red headband that had a yin-yang symbol on it. He was also dressed in a pair of black training pants and...no...shirt.

By appearance, he looked like he had been training - hard - since his headband was wet from sweat.

Sarah could've cared less, though because she literally almost squeezed the life from him when she hugged him. "Ray!" Hugging was a rare thing for her to do since she almost never gave one to anyone unless they really needed it, so she did not know how much she was actually hugging him.

The boy had to pull her away and hold her at arms' length to just breathe. He tilted his head at her and looked her over, taking in her appearance. "You've grown, Sarah."

Sarah smiled slightly. "Thankyou, Ray," she said. Indeed she had grown a great deal in the past few years.

An awkward silence fell over them.

Jenny joined the group by coming to stand beside Sarah. She studied him for a few moments then her jaw dropped. "You're...Y-you're Ray from the Blade Breakers...!"

"Former member," Ray corrected her, rubbing the back of his neck. "What are you here for?" he asked to change the subject.

"Jenny, Robbie, Sam why don't you guys show them..." She motioned towards the children. "...some of your moves?"

They nodded. Delighted squeals came from all the kids behind her.

"Ray come with me," Sarah told him.

He followed her over to the tree that she and Jenny had sat under.

"So, Sarah, it's been a while...How have you been?" Ray asked.

"These last few years have been..." She paused, unable to think of the right word. "...Rough," she finished with a sigh.

"I noticed that Travis wasn't with you," Ray started again after a short silence. "Where is he; did he quit the team?"

"Didn't you see it on the news?"

Ray shook his head.

"I banished him from the team shortly after we dropped from the finals two years ago," she explained. Knowing he was going to ask why, she added, "He slapped my sister across the face for beating him in a beyblade match."

"I guess that was for the good then," Ray said. "I never understood why he dropped you guys from that tournament...?"

Sarah turned her gaze from Jenny to him. "He wasn't the one who took us out; I was," she admitted.

"How -"

"By the time the semifinals rolled around, the Crescent Moons - exclude Travis - had decided that Travis had to go. I forged his signature on a document that said we were dropping ourselves from the tournament so we could tell him privately." Sarah's tone became darker, and she turned back to Jenny. "That is until he hit my sister, then I made it public so he would disappear quickly."

"That makes sense," he said. "Now why are you guys here?" he repeated his earlier question.

"Listen Ray," Sarah began. "I was wondering, do you think the Crescent Moons could stay here?"

A grin spread across his face as if he had known she was going to ask that. "Did you come all this way just to ask me that?" he answered her question with one of his own.

She looked him straight in the eye, replying, "Yes."

"Your teammates too?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure you want to?"

Sarah answered, using the same method Ray was using. ""Do you think I would have come all this way just to see you?" she asked him sarcastically.

"Maybe," he answered sarastically as well.

"So...?"

"I'll see what I can do," he answered serious again. "The elders will have to meet with you and your team and approve, though. I'm sure that once you tell them who you are exactly, they will jump at the chance to have you here."

Sarah smiled slightly. "Thanks Ray."

"No problem," he answered. "The next time you need to find me, though, come get me yourself. Your teammates over there nearly got there heads cut off by Driger."

She laughed at that. "So they scared you, did they."

"No, I didn't say that!" Ray said hastily.

"Yes, you did," she told him, standing up.

He stood up with her. "Whatever," he said, dismissing it. "Where will you be staying?"

Sarah thought for a moment. "At the lake you showed me when I last visited."

"You still remember that?"

"Of course," she replied. "It was beautiful!"

"Well I have to get back to training now," he said. "Just be ready when the elders are," he added, running off.

"He seems happy," Robbie said, coming over with Jenny and Sam. He was grinning.

"Shut up!" She walked away from them. "Come on. We are staying at the lake until Ray tells the elders about us."

**II**

They set up camp at the lake which was a mile, or so, outside the village. Everyone helps to set up the tent that Robbie has been carrying on his back. Almost instantly, the team falls asleep.

**II**

Sarah emerges from the flap of the tent at what she guessed was around five thirty that morning. While Robbie, Jenny, and Sam continue to sleep, she wonders off into the woods for her daily practice routine. Sarah traveled a ways away from the camp so she wouldn't get disturbed by anyone.

While you were practicing some flips, a familiar blade suddenly sliced through the bushes. It barely missed Sarah's shoe as it spun around her and then shot back into the bushes. Sarah's blade came back into her palm, and she waited for the person to come out.

Out walked Travis with a malicious grin on his face. He offered no explanation as he prepared to launch his blade again.

Sarah did the same.

"Three...Two...One..." A slight breeze ruffled Sarah's hair, covering her right eye. "...Release!" Travis finally called for the start.

His red blade hit the ground, making a mini dust storm hide it. Sarah's purple and gold blade perched on the top of a rock.

Travis got impatient quickly and started heading towards the rock at full speed.

"Are you crazy, Travis?" Sarah asked frantically. "You will destroy your blade!

Travis merely laughed. "We will see, Sarah."

She watched in horror as Travis let his blade go to its doom. That was one thing she couldn't bare to see. An irresponsible blader that cared nothing for his or her blade and bit beast didn't deserve to blade.

Sarah couldn't help but look away when it collided with the rock. When she looked back, she stared. There was Travis's blade - still spinning! She was speechless.

Travis laughed out loud at her.

"That's impossible...!" was all Sarah could say.

"Doesn't look like it to me," Travis mocked her, not laughing any longer.

Sarah snapped out of her daze and began looking for her blade. It was no where to be found.

"Lougra!" Sarah shouted, continuing to search. "Lougra, where are you?" She fell to her knees when only Travis's blade spinning was the answer she received. She clutched her head with her trembling hands.

She then noticed that Travis's mocking laughter had come to a sudden stop. She looked up at him from her kneeling position. He was staring at the pile of rocks beside her.

She twisted her head to look. Upon seeing a growing white light, she stood up, backing away. The light shined through the pile, and all the pieces of rock began to fall.


End file.
